Bellows type fluid cushion confining device for surface effect machines



Aug. 26, 1969 DUTHION ETAL BELL-0W5 TYPE FLUID CUSHION CONFINING DEVICE FOR SURFACE EFFECT MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 10, 1967 Aug. 26,1969 L. ou'rmou ETAL 3,463,264

BELLOWS TYPE FLUID CUSHION CONFINING DEVICE FOR SURFACE EFFECT MACHINES v I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 10, 1967 Fig.5

Fig.3

' 3,463,254 mvzcn Aug. 26, 1969 L. DUTHION ETAL BELLOWS TYPE FLUID CUSHION CONFINING D FOR SURFACE EFFECT MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 10, 1967 v w mm xsw m m m w/ Y b Kw 5N IN mw NM I kT fiw fi ON r I J m Q QN Aug. 26, 1969 1.. DUTHION ET 3,463,264

BELLOWS E FLUID CUSHION NING DEVICE SURFACE EFFECT INES Filed July 10, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent Oifice 3,463,264 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 3,463,264 BELLOWS TYPE FLUID CUSHION CONFINING DEVICE FOR SURFACE EFFECT MACHINES Louis Duthion, Paris, and Claude Charles Doyotte, Le Plcssis-Robinson, France, assignors to Bertin & Cie, Plaisir, France, a company of France Filed July 10, 1967, Ser. No. 652,312 Claims priority, appliczagiorz France, July 15, 1966,

Int. 01. item N16 US. Cl. 180-127 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a device for bounding or confining a pressure fluid cushion for a ground effect machine and more particularly, though not exclusively, an air cushion vehicle movable along a bearing surface.

In accordance with this invention, the pressure fluid cushion is bounded laterally by an endless wall of a material capable of withstanding high pressures and which, though fiuidtight, possesses a large capacity for deformation width-wise, i.e. in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bearing surface, said wall being secured to a bottom closure member at its end remote fro-m said bearing surface, means being provided for damping the deformations of the wall.

The endless wall may consist of a bellows of mean cylindrical shape and preferably made of metal. Alternatively, two coaxial bellows united together may be used.

The closure member is connected to the structure of the vehicle and may be the load carrying platform thereof.

The damping means may consist of an elastic cylindrical wall coaxial with the bellows and made of rubber, or the like, or alternatively of elastic spacers, and these means are connected across the structure of the vehicle and the endless wall.

The subject device of this invention offers great rigidity, thereby allowing cushion pressures of several bars to be used and loads of high specific weight to be supported on a platform having substantially the same dimensions as the load it self. It furthermore possesses marked resilience perpendicularly to the surface against which the cushion bears, whereby the latter is able to follow surface irregularities with a substantially constant leakage gap. In addition, the deformation of the bellows due to surface irregularities do not give rise to vibratory motion, owing to the action of the damping means.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a half-sectional view of a first embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 shows the detail circled in FIGURE 1 on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section taken along line IIIIII of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, showing an alternative embodiment.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section taken alOng line VV of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a half-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-section taken along line VII--VII of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 shows a still further embodiment of the device as in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 is a cross-section taken along line IX-IX of FIGURE 8.

In FIGURES 1-3, a compressed air or other pressure fluid cushion 1 is bounded at the top by a closure member 2 which may be the underside of the vehicle platform or some part rigid therewith. A metal bellows 3 is secured to closure member 2 by means of bolts 4 and a sealing gasket 5 therebetween.

Coaxially with bellows 3, an elastic cylinder 6, of strong damping capacity, made of rubber for instance, is likewise fixed to wall 2 by means of bolts 7 and nuts 8 sunken into the elastic cylinder 6.

To the bottom of bellows 3 is fixed, by welding or any other method ensuring fluidtightness, an annular shoe 9 which is likewise made fast with elastic cylinder 6 by means of bolts 10 and nuts 11 sunken in the cylinder 6 (see FIGURE 2). Alternatively, the assembly consisting of bellows 3 and shoe 9 could be devised in a single piece.

A conduit 12 is provided in order to vent the space between the bellows 3 and cylinder 6.

Air is supplied to the cushion 1 through a pipe 13 leaktightly connected to platform 2 by any convenient means (not shown). Cushion 1 is bounded by platform 2, bellows 3 and shoe 9. The metal bellows is capable of withstanding high pressures and possesses at the same time, due to its shape, considerable flexibility enabling it to follow unevennesses of the ground. The purpose of cylinder 6 is to damp the oscillations of the bellows.

Reference is now had to FIGURES 4 and 5 for an alternative constructional form of the device shown in FIG- URES l to 3, like part-s bearing like reference numerals followed by the index a.

In this embodiment, an elastic bellows 3a is secured by means of bolts 4a and an interposed sealing gasket 5a to the closure member 2a bounding the cushion on the side of the cushion opposite the ground or other bearing surface.

Damping of the oscillating movements of the bellows is accomplished by means of elastic spacers 14 fixed across platform 2a (by means of nuts 7a and bolts 8a sunken in the spacers) and a shoe 15 welded to bellows 3a. The shoe 15 is formed with annular ridges 16 obtained, say, by deforming the shoe.

Referring next to the form of embodiment shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, it will be seen that a metal bellows 17 is fixed to the structure of the vehicle 18 by means of bolts 19 and a sealing gasket 20 therebetween. Coaxially with the bellows and externally thereof, an elastic cylinder 21 is likewise attached to platform 18 in the same way as the cylinder 6 in FIGURE 1.

Coaxially with bellows 17 and cylinder 21, a second metal bellows 22 is fixed to platform 18 with an interposed sealing gasket 23, said bellows 22 being positioned on the side of cylinder 21 remote from cylinder 17.

A shoe 24, preferably having a low coeflicient of friction and possibly bearing preferably deformable seals 25 having a low coefficient of friction, is rigidly connected to the bottom of cylinder 21. Shoe 24 is fixed to bellows 17 by bolts 26 and nuts 17, a sealing gasket 28 being interposed between shoe 24 and bellows 17.

An annular-shaped part 29 welded to shoe 24 likewise enables the latter to be fixed to bellows 22 by an arrangement of nuts and screws and an interposed sealing gasket 30. Orifices 33 permit possible venting of the space included between each bellows 17 or 22 and elastic cylinder 21.

A pipe 31 serves to supply fluid under pressure to cushion 32.

Reference is lastly had to FIGURES 8 and 9 for a showing of an alternative constructional form of the device shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, like parts bearing like reference numerals followed by the index b. The fluidtight Wall consists of two coaxial bellows 17b and 22b bolted to platform 18b. In this particular embodiment, cylinder 21 is replaced by elastic spacers 34 fixed across platform 18b and shoe 2412, which shoe carries two semirigid heels 2512.

What is claimed is:

1. For a ground effect machine movable along a bearing surface, a device for confining a pressure fluid cushion formed against said surface, comprising a fluidtight endless wall in the form of at least one resilient metal bellows deformable substantially solely in the axial direction extending around said cushion and capable of withstanding relatively high pressures and of undergoing substantial variations in size in the direction of said surface, a closure means to which one end of said wall is secured and which extends endwise of said cushion opposite said surface, compact rubber-like damper means connected with said wall and reacting against said closure means for damping said variations in size thereof, and an annular shoe provided with an endless part between the other end of said bellows and said bearing surface and projecting toward said bearing surface and connected to both said metal bellows and said rubber-like means.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said damper means comprises a cylindrical element substantially coaxial with said endless wall.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said damper means comprises rubber spacer members distributed along a cylinder substantially coaxial with said endless wall.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said damper means extend outwardly of said endless wall.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fiuidtight endless wall is formed of two like axially deformable resilient metal bellows in coaxial arrangement, and said annular shoe interconnects said rubberlike damper means and said two coaxial bellows.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said 3 damper means extends between said two bellows.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,339,655 9/1967 Guienne 180-127 3,339,657 9/1967 Bertin et a1. '180-127 3,371,738 3/1968 Bertin 180-427 3,385,390 5/1968 Guienne 180-118 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,443,189 5/ 1966 France.

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner 

